


Don't Freeze My Heart

by BunnyGeneral



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Drowning, Gen, Hurt!Bones, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, nothing is easy for Dr. McCoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 00:32:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18227510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyGeneral/pseuds/BunnyGeneral
Summary: The last thing on Dr. McCoys mind when they landed on this planet, was going for a swim.





	1. Chill in Your Bones

Jim couldn’t help being amused watching Bones grumble and kick at the snow. He was bundled up in absurd amount of layers yet still complaining about the cold. He was the one who demanded to come on this mission anyway. Chapel had volunteered, but apparently, along with the vaccines they were delivering, there was a specific plant that could be used for something or whatever near the settlement. Bones seemed pretty excited about it. Bones’ inability to delegate was his other reason for coming, but Jim would never say that to his face.

They had to beam down about 2 km outside of the settlement due to interference from the weather, but, the terrain was flat and the snow not that deep. Jim was honestly looking forward to the opportunity to stretch his legs a bit. 

"It had to be a frost planet! Why is the weather never agreeable on these missions?" Bones griped, as they started their short hike. 

"Bones, you always complain as though you would actually let anyone else come down here to do this. You were practically giddy when Spock told you about that plant thing, too. Will you even let anyone from the science team look at it?” Kirk prodded at the doctor, shooting him a smirk over his shoulder. 

“Don’t start with me Jim!” Bones responded, scowling and pointing a finger in his face. “I told you about the properties of that plant. It’s somehow instrumental to the native people here thriving in this blasted cold. God knows how else they could manage it, it’s freezing. ” 

“Yeah, yeah. Bones, I know.” Jim laughed.

To the tune of McCoy’s grumbling they had made it halfway to their destination when a sharp cracking noise was heard, making Jim and the rest of the away team stop short.

“What was that?”Jim asked the science team. 

“They must have misjudged where to put us, looks like we are right on top of a frozen lake.” Ensign Jacobs responded nervously. “It uh, doesn’t seem to be particularly stable, but, if we go slow and spread our weight out more we should be fine.”

“Oh that’s just great.” Bones griped starting to walk forward again. “Of all the places they could have put u-.”

Bones stopped dead and looked down. Time seemed to freeze as sharp cracks of ice resounded across the otherwise silent landscape. Bones had barely met Jim’s equally wide eyes when the ice broke under his feet, plunging him into the freezing water.

“Bones!” Jim screamed, racing to the edge of the hole. He got on his knees and grasped the edge hoping to see a glimpse of him, but the water was too dark. Paying no mind to the frantic shouts behind him, he dove in after.

The chill of the water pushed the air from his lungs and he willed his arms to move, to find Bones. It was dark, so so dark under the ice. A sharp tug on his boot made Jim frantic,they couldn't pull him out! Not without Bones! 

He pushed his arms out wider, reaching into the dark when he felt the edge of something, something soft, fabric. Bones. He gripped the cloth tight as he was pulled from the water. Jim grasped the snow under his free hand breathing harshly, he was cold, so cold. He felt his grip on the fabric forcibly pried open. 

“Bones.” He called weakly, struggling to turn over, to see if he was okay. 

Bones wasn't moving, Jim tried to get to him but he couldn't move. He was already losing the battle to stay conscious, his body already losing the energy to shiver. 

“Someone...Med evac! Can't….Disruption! We...get him breathing! Captain!” 

Jim felt hands on him, but he couldn't look away. Bones was so still. Bones was too still. They were pulling off Bones jackets, his chest wasn't moving. 

“Captain! Stay awake! You have to stay awake!” 

Jim couldn't fight it, he could feel himself going back under, black just like the water. Eyes closing on the sight of the cold, still, not breathing body of his best friend.


	2. Thaw My Heart

When Jim comes to he is warm, laying on something soft with a comforting weight pressing around him. He slowly blinks the sleep from his eyes trying to place where he is and why. The weight he figures out is some kind of fur, a whole pile of them on top of him. He can’t help but to bury his hand in it.

He hears a noise to his left and turns his head to see one of the natives they were trying to get to walking toward him.

“What, what happened?” Jim asked,he feels slow, sluggish and uncoordinated.

“When we heard you were crossing the water plains we grew concerned of your passing and came to meet you. It was fortunate that we did, you were in bad sorts.” The native responded with a soft trill.

Jim remembered the ice, the gaping hole where his friend had stood. 

"Bones!” Jim cried, as he tried to get up, muscles tense and shaking. His pulse thrumming with the effort it took.

“Your doctor is well, just sleeping right now.” The native said, answering his unspoken question.

They gestured past Jim to the man sleeping in the same piles of fur. Jim collapsed back into the warmth, adrenaline crashing leaving him drained. He rolled over and curled up on his side, facing Bones. He relaxes, staring at his doctor, his best friend, his _Bones_. He reaches out to place a hand on Bones' now blessedly warm chest so he can feel his heartbeat, and with the comfort of its rhythm beneath his palm, he falls back asleep.


End file.
